Beef bourguignonne

Name: Beef bourguignonne
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 750g good quality blade or chuck steak; 75g pancetta, rind removed; 1½ cups good quality red wine; 1 cup veal stock, approximately; 1 tbsp sea salt; 3 tbsp olive oil; 3 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 small brown onion, diced; 1 small carrot, roughly chopped; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 tbsp plain flour; 2 bay leaves; 8 small eschalots, peeled; 150g small button mushrooms; 1 tsp thyme leaves, plus extra to serve; Freshly ground black pepper; buttery mash, to serve

Neil Perry

June 28, 2016

As winter nears and the weather cools, this hearty dish is a family favourite.William Meppem

Time:2 hours +Serves:4-6

This classic dish rewards the softly-softly approach: cook it slowly and gently and you will get a juicy, tender result; boil it and it will be tough. You can change it up by adding a dark beer instead of wine, which works remarkably well.

Ingredients

750g good quality blade or chuck steak
75g pancetta, rind removed
1½ cups good quality red wine
1 cup veal stock, approximately
1 tbsp sea salt
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small brown onion, diced
1 small carrot, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
2 bay leaves
8 small eschalots, peeled
150g small button mushrooms
1 tsp thyme leaves, plus extra to serve
Freshly ground black pepper
buttery mash, to serve

Method

Step 1
Trim beef of any fat and cut into 3-4cm pieces. Cut pancetta into 5mm x 5mm thick matchsticks.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 140C.
Step 3
Place the red wine into a saucepan and reduce by a third, about 8 minutes, then add the veal stock and bring up to the boil.
Step 4
In a separate oven proof casserole dish, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter. Season beef with sea salt and pan fry in batches until nice and golden in colour. Remove the beef from the pan and add 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter. When the butter is foaming, add onions and carrots. Slowly cook for about 8 minutes, then add garlic, cook for a further 4 minutes, then add the flour, mix through and gently cook for about 3 minutes.
Step 5
Pour the hot red wine and stock mixture into the pan; do this gradually to ensure that no lumps form. Bring up to a gentle boil. Return beef pieces to the pan with any resting juices and the bay leaves. Cover with a lid and place into the oven and cook for 2–2½ hours, or until tender.
Step 6
In a frying pan, heat the remaining oil and butter and add the pancetta and cook until lightly coloured, about 4 minutes, then remove from the pan. Add eschalots and colour then remove, finally add the button mushrooms and lightly sauté.
Step 7
Add pancetta, eschalots, mushrooms and thyme leaves to the braised beef. Cook for a further 15 minutes. Serve with buttery mash, extra thyme and freshly ground pepper.